“I’m extremely proud of the faculty and staff who have designed and deliver our program, and especially our tremendous students who are working hard to become the future leaders in the game industry,” said Robert Kessler, Director of EAE. “Another high ranking for the EAE program affirms that we are among the best in the world at games education.”

Editors of the site said they considered hundreds of schools around the country that offered programs in animation or game design.

“In the end,” they said, “our goal is to give students access to ample information so they can make an informed decision about the school they choose to attend and the program they pursue.”

The rankings were based on the following criteria:

• Academic reputation
• Admission selectivity
• Depth and breadth of the program
• Value as it relates to tuition and indebtedness
• Geographic location

Earlier this year, EAE’s undergraduate and graduate programs each were ranked 3rd in the country, according to The Princeton Review. The undergraduate program has been ranked in the top three since 2011 in that survey and was previously ranked No. 1 in 2013 and 2016. Similarly, the graduate program has been in the top five since 2013, earning the top spot in 2015. It was ranked 3rd last year.

EAE also announced last month that it is forming the University of Utah’s first college-sponsored varsity esports program. The program will compete in multiple games, including “League of Legends,” and is the first of its kind from a school out of the Power Five athletics conferences (Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast and Southeastern).

EAE is an interdisciplinary program launched in 2007 and represents work between the University of Utah’s College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts.